Making Room
by LikeTheBlackAndWhiteCat
Summary: Seven-part story from each character's POVs after the pilot (plus one as a conclusions) Includes a slightly different timeline / series of events and does not directly follow the series.
1. Stef

**So this is a *******_was_******* a one shot, but I've changed and repost it (having deleted the original) under a new name... So please don't hesitate to tell me what you think :)**

**The first part is mainly just Stef and her thoughts... **

**So yeah, please reveiw, followand/or favourite :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I own less than nothing. NONE of it belongs to me. At all. *sigh***

Stef lay there, under the covers with Lena beside her, listening to her sleeping partner's shallow breathing. Despite the day's drama she couldn't sleep - her mind was still reeling from the evening's events... and the decision she'd made as a result.

...

_It was dark and she knew that if they didn't start heading home soon, Jesus and Mariana would start to worry. Well, Jesus maybe. Considering Mariana's plan to 'deceive' her parents and sneak out, Stef wasn't sure if both twins were even home right then. She sighed. _Mariana sneaking out - _yet another thing to add to her growing list of worries. But right then she only had one main concern - the three children who currently sat in the back of her car, two of whom had had a gun aimed at them only minutes before. Stef sighed again._

_Half of her wanted to shout at the girl who'd let her son find himself in that sort of danger, that sort of position that could have oh-so-easily have ended completely differently. Instead of thinking about going home, she could have been forced to think about hospitals or even... _funeral homes -_ if it hadn't played out as well. One - or both - of them could have been dead. But they weren't. All of them were alive. A little shaken, yes, but alive and well considering, and she can't help but just feel relieved. _

_Then she remembered the teen's face as she'd rushed to her brother. The obvious love and concern she felt for him. That girl had been willing to risk her life for him, and somehow Stef doubted it'd been the first time. A wave of pity washed through her body as she thought of how desperate the girl had looked as she'd begged for her brother to be placed in a good home if - _when_ \- she got sent back to juvie. _There's nothing she wouldn't do for him. _Stef can't help but admire her._

_Which was why she told Lena that she wouldn't - _couldn't - _send those kids back into the system, that they _had_ to find a way to make room. _

_She couldn't give up on those two foster kids, not after they'd already given up on themselves. _

_..._

Stef sighed. She knew they'd find a way, they always did. But right then there were two scared _children_ downstairs in her living room, both of whom had no idea how long they'd be staying. She wished she could do something - anything - to help them, _really_ help them. An overwhelming urge to go downstairs and just... _look_ at them overcame her, and before she realised what she was doing, Stef had slipped out of bed and put on her dressing gown, tying the strap around her waist. She crept out of the room, careful not to wake Lena and tiptoed across the landing towards the stairs. Although she wasn't particularly expecting it, she wasn't surprised when she heard their voices, talking softly to each other as they lay there in the dark, alone in an unfamiliar environment. She sighed. Without meaning to, she found herself sitting down and just listening, trying to understand - to work out what she could do to help.

"They seem..._nice?_" Jude seemed to question the last word, his doubt evident.

"Yeah, they are." His sister let out a small, dry chuckle, "I don't think we've ever been in such a friendly, cheerful place." There was no humour in her voice, making it sound almost..._bitter_.

"Really!" He asked, awestruck at the idea, "Wow! I can't imagine..."

"Then don't." She didn't say it to be mean, in fact it was for the opposite reason. Callie knew from experience that the childish imaginary ideal home didn't exist. Nothing was perfect, nothing worked out.

She sighed and turned to face her brother, making her sleeping-bag rustle, "There's no point - we don't even know what catch this place comes with."

Stef winced at the knowing tone of Callie's voice. _What could have made her so distrusting? What had they been through? _She thought, and sighed_. The poor babies... _My_ poor babies... _It took all her strength not to enter the room and just _hug _them - showing them the comfort and protection from the world that they deserved but never got. She wanted to but didn't - just like she didn't realise how she was already associating them with being _hers_ \- how they'd already found a place in her heart and family. She sighed again, turning her attention away from her thoughts and back to the conversation the two children were having.

"How long will we be here?" Jude's voice was soft and hesitant, as though just asking would jinx their luck and cause them to be kicked out.

Though she couldn't see her, Stef could easily imagine Callie shrugging."I don't know." The girl answered. "Not long though, not after tonight. Bill will probably get us tomorrow."

"Oh." Jude's voice was full of disappointment. He'd evidently hoped to stay for longer. "Then what?"

"Then what what?" She teased her brother, though she knew what he meant, she just didn't want to tell him, not yet.

"You _know _what! What will happen after Bill gets us?"

"What do you think Jude?" Her voice lost its playful tone. The two of them fell into silence.

Callie sighed. She hadn't meant to snap, but it was his own fault. He knew as well as she did. She took a deep breath and began again. "We'll be split up. You'll be placed in some foster home somewhere and I'll end up back in juvie. You're a good kid - if you play it right maybe this family will want to keep you - else, a different just as nice one. I'm the problem. Without me you'll do just fine." She spoke in a matter-of-fact sort of tone, as though it was already arranged.

Stef felt a pang of sympathy for them. _Those poor kids_. She wished that there was something she could do, _anything _at all. She could only think of one thing.

"Oh." Jude's voice interrupted her thoughts, and Stef frowned at how close to tears he sounded. "I don't want that. I'd miss you too bad."

Callie sighed. "I'd miss you too, bud" The two siblings fell back into silence.

Quietly, Stef got up and walked back up the stairs. Getting into bed, she lay there, staring up at the ceiling. A small smile appeared on her face as she made up her mind. Tomorrow she's talk to Lena and _then _they'd call Bill. Still smiling, she shifted in her bed, getting into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes, able to sleep now that her mind was at rest. She knew what she had to do.

…

"Coffee's on the table."

Stef smiled at her partner's greeting. Despite Lena's views on caffeine, the two of them had an agreement concerning Stef and her morning pick-me-ups.

"Thanks, love." With a peck on the cheek, Stef took the drink and moved past her to stand by the window which overlooked the garden.

"So I was thinking..."

"Mariana's going to Lexi's today, Jesus has a tutoring session after school with Timothy - that boy is falling behind in English now too, we rely need to talk to him about it - oh, and Brandon and Callie have a detention afterschool for skipping yesterday." Lena let out a deep breath. "You were saying...?"

"I...um... wow." Stef smirked at her, "you totally belong vice principal-ing."

Lena mock-glared at her teasing. "Focusing, Stephanie, you were thinking...?"

"Oh right," Remembering what she'd been planning on saying, Stef's voice lost its playful edge. "It was about our guests..."

Lena bit her lip. "I know that I didn't discuss it with you before I - we - took Callie in, and I'm sorry. In hind sight it wasn't the best idea -"

"No." Stef interrupted, cutting Lena short. "It was. If you hadn't been the kind hearted, loving woman that I adore, then that girl might have ended up in a house _worse_ than the one we just rescued her brother from - and god knows what would have happened to Jude..."

"So you're no longer cross..."

"I'm no longer cross." Stef confirmed,.planting a kiss on Lena's lips and placing her hands on her partner's hips, bringing them closer. "In fact, I was never really cross."

"I knew it." Lena breathed, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"Hmmm," Stef made a Boise of agreement. "But now there's two of them. And, though we don't have much space -"

"We don't have enough with just three teens."

"-We can't just put these kids straight back into the system."

"They deserve better."

Stef nodded. "Exactly," she said, "They deserve better."

"So we'll make room?" Lena asked, putting into words what her partner was _trying_ to ask.

Stef nodded, "We'll make room."


	2. Jude

**Thanks for the reviews, favourites and followers :) Like really, thanks :D So this chapter is mainly Jude-centric... as in him comparing his previous foster homes to this one... And it's also really, really short... Sorry!**

**As with everything else, please favourite / follow / review if you like...**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing... At all... Ever... Unfortunately :'(**

When Jude woke up he was surprised to see that the clock on the table beside him read 7:30. He was surprised by this for two main reasons: 1; for the past four months he'd been forced to get up at 5:00 each morning in order to do extra chores and homework before going to school, and 2; the clock hadn't been there the previous evening - meaning that he'd actually felt safe enough to sleep through someone coming downstairs and placing it there. He hadn't felt safe in years, not really. But here... here was different, and he liked that.

The smell of freshly-cooked waffles wafted from the kitchen, making his mouth water and urging from the sofa where he lay. He made his way out of the room, noting the absence of his sister with a mixture of shock and curiosity - Callie never usually left him in a room on his own, unprotected, yet he somehow doubted that this place was as bad as the others._ After all, hadn't Callie agreed just last night that the people here were actually nice - actually decent?_

...

Still, he was relieved to see his sister at the table as he entered the room, though she didn't immediately notice him, instead staring off in the distance, immersed in her own thoughts. He smiled that, the fact that - despite what she'd probably say - she was actually letting her guard down, even if it was just for a few minutes. Having said that, she still looked particularly tense, though that was probably just second nature to her.

Stef looked up from her paper as he stood awkwardly in the doorway and smiled at him. "Hey Bud, Lena just made waffles. Help yourself before Jesus eats them all."

He nodded but didn't say anything, slowly making his way to the table. Yet more reason this foster home was different; not only did they, in no uncertain terms, give him permission to eat as much as he wanted, but they'd picked up on Callie's nickname for him and actually wanted to use it, in genuine terms of affection for him - and not just for the benefit of any case workers that came to visit, like his other foster homes.

At the sound of his nickname, Callie retracted from her thoughts and smiled broadly at him, the tension leaving her body as she fully relaxed, causing her to look almost care-free for a moment. "Hey Bud, d'you sleep well? You weren't too cold or anything, right?"

One thing that Jude could always marvel about his sister was how she could go from an average teenage girl to mother hen in nought to sixty seconds.

He nodded again, and returned her smile. "Yeah, I was fine. Not too hot, not too cold." He sat down beside her. "It was _just_ right!"

"Alright, Baby Bear!" She laughed, like she did every time he made a joke or humorous comment, regardless of how funny it _actually_ was, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, bringing him closer to her.

Jude smirked at her, a knowing look in his eye. "It was Goldilocks who said that, not Baby Bear!" He chuckled happily correcting his older sister, "Honestly, you should have _known _that!"

She laughed again, bumping her shoulder against his. "Nuh-uh!" She jokingly teased, "_You_ should have known that!"

"What that doesn't make sense!" Mariana snapped, ruining the siblings' joyous mood and reminding them of the other's presence. Immediately both went silent, staring down at their plates and refusing to make eye contact with any one.

Stef looked up from her newspaper to meet Lena's eye, and sighed internally. She could have _killed_ Mariana for saying that and scaring the two newcomers, forcing them back into their shells, it was just such a... _Miss Thing_ to do. She sighed again, this time out loud, but didn't say anything, once again exchanging looks with her partner.

"Well I think we should get going. Jude, honey, you'll be staying here with me until Bill arrives, the rest of you, off to school!" She clapped her hands together and ushered the older teens out of the room, despite the reluctance and protests made by Callie and Jude as the two of them were separated.

Lena frowned at how much they depended on each other's presence, and at how much they fought to protect one each other. "It'll only be for a few hours," She promised them, "Just until Stef and I talk to Bill, then Jude will come in with me yo enrol. We're not going to let the two of you be separated, I promise." She smiled reassuring at both of them and they reluctantly obeyed, Callie picking up her bag and slinging it over a shoulder, before heading towards the door.

"Oh, and Callie?" Stef called, eyebrows raised ever so slightly, her tone teasing. "Don't think for a second that we didn't notice that cup of coffee you had - we're weaning you off of it, Missy!"

Jude smiled slightly at that._Yep,this foster family was definitely different from the rest..._


	3. Callie

**THANK YOOOOOOOU! My lovely reviewers, followers and favouriters (let's pretend that that is a word...)**

**So I could swear that my chapters are getting shorter****and shorter... Sorry? This one is Callie based and is kinda definitely short... Whoops.**

**Well if you like it, please don't hesitate to rate/follow/review, or even PM me with suggestions or advice on making it better... So yeah.**

**NOTE: The rating for this story'll go up because of language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything Fosters related, and if you think that I do, duuuuude what ARE you smoking?! XD**

She couldn't concentrate. Not on what the teacher was saying and certainly not on her work. Hell, she wasn't entirely sure what lesson she was even in.

"-Which is why Fluorine is a better oxidising agent than Bromine. What can be said about the atomic radius of each, Miss... Jacob?"

Callie looked up, a fraction later than she was meant to, and - by the smirk on her teacher's face - she knew that he knew that she hadn't been paying attention.

She shrugged, unsure of the answer and more than a little uncomfortable as everyone turned to look at her, waiting for her answer.

"Um... They're the same?" She guessed.

The teacher's smirk widened. "Was that a question?"

She shrugged again. She knew what he was doing - or at the very least _trying_ to do. She'd been to enough schools to know that it wasn't just the kids who held biased and unfair opinion on her and all foster kids. He didn't like her, and it was unlikely that anything she did would change his mind - he'd already decided that. He was essentially going to bully her, and he was going to do knowing full well that he could get away with it. After all, she couldn't exactly complain to her parents about it could she. She didn't have the luxury or parents - or at least not ones active in her life or who held a position to complain to the school board or kick up a fuss. He thought she was defenceless and that meant he could get away with picking on her.

And that fact, that he could get away with it and knew it, that angered her. He was trying to humiliate her in front of the entire class, and that pissed her off.

Callie shrugged again. "Sure, why not?" She raised an eyebrow, and looked him in the eye, clearly challenging him.

_I won't back down - I don't need to. I'm not unprotected, I protect myself and_ can_ fight my own battles. Don't even_ bother_ trying to intimidate me, I've had foster parents who make you look like a cuddly hamster in comparison. You don't scare me._

She glared at him, and he glowered in response.

"Because it's wrong." He snapped. "And if you'd actually been listening, you would have known that. We also covered it last week when-"

Callie laughed loudly, if a little hysterical, cutting him off.

"Last week?! Wait a minute, you're asking me a question about your lesson from _last week?!_ Are you _fucking_ kidding me?! I wasn't here then - how the _hell_ am I meant to know something that I wasn't even here for? I mean, I wasn't even enrolled in this school then! Were _you_ even _listening_ at that teachers' conference yesterday, Sir, or are you just a hypocrite with a huge stick up his ars-!"

"MISS JACOB!" The teacher bellowed, his face red with rage. "How _dare_ you! Yes, I was at the teachers' conference and yes, I heard what they said. But let me tell you -and you better listen to this, Miss Jacob - I will _not_ be spoken to that way, and I _certainly_ won't take cheek from a girl whose spent the last _five months_ in a juvenile detention centre!"

The silence that had passed through the room at the beginning of their 'conversation' broke as students turned to one another to share hushed whispers.

_"Woah, juvie!"_

_"I knew that she was trouble!"_

_"I bet she killed someone..."_

_"She'd be locked up for longer than five months for murder, dipshit."_

_"If my parents find out I bet that they'd complain."_

_"Is she even safe to be around?!"_

Callie rolled her eyes and sighed. She had no doubt that by lunch the whole school would know that she'd been in juvie.

The teacher also sighed and ran a hand through his thinning hair before turning back to the board. "Miss Jacob, you'll be attending after school detention for the next week. Use it as time to catch up to where the rest of the class is, or I'll make sure that you're removed from the course altogether. The correct answer was that as you go down the group, the atomic radius increases this is due to..."

He continued to speak, but it was clear that nobody was really listening. Callie sat stiffly in her chair as her fellow classmates continued to speculate about what terrible crimes she must have committed. After another ten minutes of it, she'd had enough. Gathering up her belongings, she got up and strode to the entrance, ignoring her teacher's angry words and classmates' stares. She knew that she was only adding to the gossiping surrounding her, but she couldn't find the effort to care.

Besides, she wasn't one to ruin others' fun._ If they wanted to talk, let them talk. S_he thought, and calmly walked through the door.


	4. Mariana

**Hey, so sorry that it took a while to update. It was going to be a Lena chapter but... It refused to cooperate and didn't want to be written :/ So here's a Miss Thing one instead. Hopefully you'll like it - the Jude-Mariana scene that I'm planning to include has been in my mind for AGES. Hopefully it'll be good on paper. So yeah, please review, follow, favourite... Oh! Or even message me if you have an idea for a scene part thing!**

**NOTE: Edited 04/04**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm more likely to own a llama-unicorn-elephant hybrid that anything Fosters related. **

To the people that didn't know her, Mariana appeared to be the stereotype of bitchy high-school girl, with her spoilt attitude and seemingly self-opinionated nature. Her flair for dramatics didn't help her case much either. However, if you looked past her surface, it was found that she was actually a kind-hearted and loyal to her friends and family, as well as being thoughtful - at times. It was just that not many people saw that side to her.

Still, you'd think that, what with her peers constantly - and incorrectly- assuming the wrong things about her, that she'd keep an open-mind when meeting new people and not form instant conclusions as to what they were like. Unfortunately, Mariana's main flaw was just that - she didn't learn from her past experiences and didn't treat people in the way that she, herself, would like to be treated.

"You'll never guess what I heard at school today!" She sang, discarding her bag in the hallway on her way to the kitchen. There, she grinned at her brothers and at the Jacob siblings. "Well?" She demanded, "don't you want to guess?"

"Not really," Jesus shrugged nonchalant, "I mean, you're going to tell us anyway."

She glared at her twin."Shut up."

"Make me." He challenged, smirking as he teased her.

"He's right, though." Brandon pointed out, stopping the fight which as about to occur. "So you might as well just tell us."

"You two are _useless_." Mariana sighed. "What about you guys, do you have any idea? I mean, it _is_ about you?" She watched the two newcomers, directing the last part at Callie. The other girl flinched as something briefly flickered across her face.

"No? Well, apparently, _you _walked out of Mr. Darran's chem class today _after_ he told everyone that you were in _Juvie_!" She beamed at the surprise on Jesus and Jude's faces, and the mixture of shock and confusion on Brandon's. Callie's reaction, however, was slightly disappointing. Her face remained blank, expressionless. Without a word, she got up and left the room.

She frowned and rolled her eyes. "Wow, what a bitch. What's _her_ problem?!"

Neither of her brothers answered, both looking uncomfortable. Jude, however, did.

"You are." He said, his voice, though quiet, was even and strong. "You're mean, selfish and _spoilt_. You've already decided that you don't like her, but you don't have a reason. Yes, my sister probably walked out of her class, and yes, she's been in Juvie. But that was only because she was protecting _me. _Have _you _ever done that - protected someone that you love, and taken on punishments for them - or are you the one who _expects _ to _be_ protected? Have you ever been beaten until you were _unconscious_ because you took food to feed your starving brother, pr have you ever been _locked_ in a cupboard for _three_ days because you spent your time teaching your brother maths? Callie has. Callie's had a lot of things done to her in order to protect _me_, so cut her some slack. We're not exactly going to be here long."

""Hey kids, what's going on...?" Four different pairs of eyes widened in surprise as they looked in the direction of Stef and Lena, both of whom had just entered the kitchen, and heard the end of what Jude had said.

"I, er..."

"Nothing, just - "

"We were just talking- "

"Right." Stef's tone was disbelieving at the four guilty faces which looked at her, and she looked at the youngest, the only one there who was yet to speak.

Silence fell over the kitchen. Jude's face paled. "I'm sorry. Please don't hurt her." Without waiting for her response, he got up and quickly darted from the room, presumably to warn his sister. Silence fell once more.

"Does anyone want to tell me what's going on." Lena's voice was clipped, angry. "Only I doubt that was '_nothing'_ is the cause of our guest being terrified. So someone speak. _Now._"

"It was me." Mariana admitted, after only a slight pause. "I mentioned a rumour that I'd heard - about Callie and... _Juvie_ \- and she got upset. So did Jude. I'm sorry. I didn't realise..." She trailed off and bit her lip.

"What, that there's more to her story than that?" Stef retorted, her voice a mixture of disappointment and anger.

Lena sighed. "Of course you didn't."

"I'm sorry. I mean, I should have known - me and Jesus have both been in the system too. We know how it works."

This time it was Stef who sighed. "Okay. Well we need to go and speak with Callie and Jude, but then we're having a family meeting. We have some things to discuss."

All three teens nodded. "Okay."

"Wait!" As the moms moved to leave, Mariana spoke. They turned back to face her. "Jude said... Are they going soon?"

Jesus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, you're asking that?! Jude's right - you _are_ a selfish spoilt bi-!"

"Jesus!" Lena scolded, cutting him off with a stern look. "We do _not_ use that language! And Mariana- " Here she turned back to her daughter, "- we'll talk about that _later_."

"No, but -!" She sighed, and shot her moms a small sad smile. "I just meant that I don't... I don't want them to leave - not unless where they're going is safe. They deserve that much at least."

Stef and Lena looked at each other, silently communicating with each other.

Stef nodded. "We'll talk about it later." She promised.

The three teens smiled, Mariana's the biggest of them all. "Good," she nodded in approval.

As the two women left the room, Stef wrapped an arm around her partner's waist and smiled to herself.

"Well Marian's changed her tone." She quietly observed.

Lena laughed. "Oh, yeah, I noticed that." She frowned slightly and glance at the blonde, "You realised that what Miss Thing wants she usually gets, right?"

Again, Stef smiled. "Yeah," She responded, "I'm counting on it."


	5. Lena

**So I've finally written Lena's chapter. It took a while as I wanted her soft and friendly but not weak, because she isn't and I think it's easy for her to seem weaker because of her dislike for violence and curse words, especially when compared to her brave policeman wife. So hopefully it's okay and in character, that said, I have decided that certain characters (mainly Jude) WILL be a little OOC, as I agree with the one review I got last update - brave Jude is good. Great, even.**

**Also, next updte should (hopefully) be later on this week and will have this cute Jesus-Jude moment (again, hopefully).**

**Any how, please, please, pleeeeeaaaassseeee favourite, review and follow. Please? **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. **

Lena followed Stef, unsure of what to expect from the Jacob sibling when at least one of them was upset and the other was most probably also.

She knew exactly what to expect if it were one of her own kids that was upset - Brandon would put in earphones and play on the piano something which reflected how he was feeling, Jesus would become agitated, tapping his foot frantically and being more energetic than usual - which meant that it took longer to calm him down - and Mariana would either become a full-blown drama queen and and fling herself dramatically on her bed, or she'd become subdued - shrinking back into the shell of the quiet girl who'd first entered their household - for once not wanting to be centre of everything.

But the kids she was about to talk to were already upset and she didn't know how they'd react to their presence and company or to the words they needed to have. Upset kids could be unpredictable, an that thought made Lena nervous.

_After all_, She reasoned, _Callie had already shown that she didn't react well to things - she _had_ been in Juvie for destruction of property and had been downright hostile when Lena had first taken her home. _

You didn't need a degree in Child Behaviour to know that the teen had a rather impulsive nature, almost carelessly so - she'd led Brandon (and therefore Stef) into a potentially lethal situation rather than ask for help and Lena had no doubt that she was probably worse when upset. Jude, however, was a mystery. Lena was not sure how the young boy acted, though by the sounds of how he'd stood up to Mariana, it would seem that he could be _just_ as fierce as his sister when it was required.

That said, when she followed her partner into the living room she was _not_ expecting the scene before her. Jude stood to the side, tears freely flowing down his cheeks, his whole body trembling as he loudly sobbed, whilst his sister quickly moved around the room packing their stuff into his S_kippy_ rucksack and her blue duffel bag, stopping every now and then to touch his arm, a gesture which seemed to cause reassurance and comfort in both of them.

Stef cleared her throat. "What's going on?"

Instantly, the two siblings frozen. Jude stopped crying, quietening his sobs and frantically wiping his face - as though to hide the evidence of his previous tears - and Callie shifted to the side, dropping the item of clothing she'd been holding and obscuring Jude from the two women's lines of vision. She held one arm behind her, guarding her younger brother, whilst the other was tense, its hand clenched tightly into a fist.

She was, Lena realised, the epitome of defensive.

"Callie?" She asked in the most calming, non-threatening tone she could muster, "What's going on? What are you doing?"

"Like you don't know." The girl spat, glaring at her and pushing her brother further behind her, silently telling him to stay partially hidden from sight. Jude did so, obediently and gratefully, shrinking further into his sister as his body continued to shake. Lena felt a rush of sympathy for the two of them.

"What do you mean?" Stef questioned, frowning slightly, "What do we know - that you're packing? I can see that, but _neither_ of us know - or understand - why. So why are you?"

Callie let out a humourless laugh at that. "_Please_!" She all but snarled, "Don't pretend. Jude - _I__ \- _upset your kids. He yelled at them, because of me. Which means you're going to punish us and then chuck us out. So we're packing. And _then_ you can punish _me - not_ Jude. He didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault - _mine_."

Lena sighed. Their pain was evident, as was their fear. Whilst Jude was an open book, his fear clearly shown on his face, his sister's could only be seen through her clenched fist, tighter with fear than anger, and large brown eyes. And Lena wished that she could stop it, take their pain away and keep them safe forever. IT pained _her_ to see these two children in front of her, terrified beyond measure by her and her partners's presence because of an unjust system.

Evidently, Stef felt the same way. "He upset our kids?" She questioned and turned to Lena, raising an eyebrow, a faint smile on her lips. "Did our kids seem upset to you, love?"

"No." Lena shook her head. "In fact, whatever Jude said seems to have changed Mariana's mind about the two of them - the two of you." She smiled softly at the siblings, and was rewarded with Jude looking curiously at her from behind Callie, allowing himself to be seen. "We're not mad."

So you're _not_ going to punish us?" Callie's voice was confused and quiet - the voice of a little girl. She seemed so vulnerable and... _young,_ not like the tough girl who'd first entered their house. All Lena wanted to do was protect her. Instead, it was Stef who answered the girl.

"Punish you? For what? Even if Brandon and the twins didn't like you, that would be no reason to be cross with you. Neither of you have done anything wrong. Besides, no punishment we ever give will cause out harm - that's what you're worried about, right? I - _we_ \- can promise the two of you that."

Callie frowned at that, evidently not liking the answer. "Well, then, what about the fact that I walked out of school, or that yesterday I put members of your family - Brandon and _you_, Stef - in danger _and_ I came back with Jude - forcing you to have an extra mouth to feed?"

Stef frowned at the walking out part, and shot a questioning look at Lena, who shrugged.

"None of those are good reason." The blonde cop replied. "And I'm sure that you had a reason fro walking out of class, or else Lena would have told me, -" Lena winced at the slight dig Stef had made. "- And you were just looking out for your brother - you had _no_ idea that that man had a gun. We're not cross with you, love, and you haven't done anything wrong."

Lena raised an eyebrow slightly at the affectionate pet name that Stef used, but decided against mentioning it. Instead, she smiled at the two children.

"_And_ none of our children hate you - _either_ of you. As I said before, whatever Jude said certainly changed Mariana's mind. We spoke to Bill earlier and wanted to talk to the two of you _before_ we have a family discussion about it." She took a deep breathe and reached out to hold Stef's hand. "We - Stef and I - we would like the two of you to stay with us."

Stef nodded, "Whilst we can't offer a permanent - I"m sorry but we're not at a place to offer that - we _do _want this to be your last, last, _last_ way-stop. Ever. If you want that, that is?"

Callie slowly searched their faces, before slowly relaxing her position and shooting them a small smile.

Jude tilted his head, frowning slightly.

"Really?" He questioned disbelievingly.

Callie shot him a warning look. "Jude!"

Lena laughed. "Really, really." She nodded, her voice tinted with amusement.

His eyes widened. Before Callie had a chance to stop him, he launched himself at Lena and tightly hugged her.

"Thank you." He whispered.

Lena grinned, and returned the hug. The warmth and care of the young boy told her what she already knew; there was _no_ way that these children were leaving their house any time soon.


	6. Jesus

**So it seems that I lied. I said that it was going to be t hopefully have been during that same week as the last update , and, as you can see, it isn't. Instead, it's been OVER a month later ... sorry? :/**

**Still, I changed the Jesus-Jude scene, but I think this one is kinda cute and brother-ly. **

**Also, I'm not one to beg for reviews, buuuut... please? I was a little disappointed that the last update only got one review, mainly because I personally liked that chapter... Still, hopefully you'll like this one.**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm more likely to turn into a giant pink inflatable elephant than ever own anything to do with the Fosters. Ever.**

"Dude! That's my stuff!" Jesus sighed as Stef left his room, taking with her an overflowing cardboard box full of all sorts of knickknacks, varying from an old skateboard that was missing a front wheel and a dirty gym sock from who knows how long ago. "You can't just take my stuff - I live here too!"

"Really?" His mom turned on the spot, a flash of anger in her eyes as she warned her son, "And when _exactly_ do you use these things?! I'm pretty sure they'll be just as... _loved_ in the garage. They're not going anywhere, Jesus, just moving locations for a while. I think Jude deserves space for his belongings, don't you?"

"Yes Mom." With a sigh, he nodded, "Sorry."

"Good lad, now you can either help Jude bring his items up or go and help your sister sort out her room. Chose wisely -I predict that one of them is about to go full blown stroppy diva, and I'm not on about young Jude!" Chuckling, she ruffled his hair.

With another nod, he quickly ducked his head and ran down the stairs to help his foster brother.

Not that he needed much help.

"Is that all you've got?" Jesus frowned slightly when Jude nodded, although he could still remember being in foster care, he was pretty sure that he'd own more stuff than the young boy in front of him.

"Yep, that's everything." With a small smile which seemed far too sad for a twelve year old to have, Jude picked up his rucksack, swinging it over his shoulder. "It's the room on the right, right?"

"Yeah."

Both boys went back upstairs, Jesus walking behind, silently studying his new roommate. The boy was obvious used to this, the moving and the changing of rooms and the new families - none of that seemed to faze him. However, the other day when he'd spoken back to Mariana he'd looked so shocked - maybe more so than Mari had - suggesting that he didn't usually speak back. From what he could tell, Jesus thought that Jude seemed a quiet kid. The kind who was polite and didn't go around drawing attention to himself, the kind who parent's liked and wanted as friends for their kids. The kind of kid Jesus always wished he could be.

But obviously he also had it bad - his reaction at yelling at Mariana told them all that. He was used to discipline- and not just a talking to or grounding. Jesus remembered what _that_ was like, living in _that_ world. The furious yelling when you ended up playing too loudly, the angry clip of the ear when you ran in the house, the slap across the face when you accidentally broke a vase. But he'd escaped it, he'd been lucky finding his moms and his family. And the kid in front of him, obviously thought that he still lived in that world, but he didn't, not now that Stef and Lena had found him and his sister. If there was one thing they were certain to do, it was to make sure that their next home - their _forever_ home was a good, _safe_ one. And until them they'd be here, Jude sharing Jesus's room and, as much as he'd complained, Jesus was glad. The kid deserved a safe place, a break from the system. He was glad that he was here with him.

Entering his - well, now it was _their - _ room, he watched as Jude carefully put his old rucksack at the foot of his new bed, slowly unzipping it and pulling out the few items of clothing he had there.

"You really don't have much, do you?"

Jude looked up, scared, and Jesus could have kicked himself. He hadn't meant it rudely, but as a conversation starter, though it seemed to have just given his new foster brother the wrong idea about him.

"I don't mean that badly," he quickly clarified, "Just as an observation. Mariana and I didn't have much when we first came here, but I think we had more. Mari had this blankie and I had this teddy - well, it was a tiger - that we'd always had, since before going into the system. I guess I'm surprised that you don't have much, that's all."

"Callie says that we don't need much. That we have each other and that's enough, anything else is extra and isn't essential, but being together is. We're each other's family and we don't need a forever family because once she's 18 Callie will get rights of me and then I can have whatever I want - I mean within reason - but until then only the essentials are necessary."

"Oh."

They were silent for a moment, as Jude slowly put his clothing into the drawers.

"We _used_ to have more. When we first went into foster care, I mean. We were allowed to pick a few things from our house, so I took the bear my mom had gotten me before I was born. It was called J.J Bear - the J.J part for Jude Jacobs -and she used to put on silly voices and talk to me through it. It was our game, but it just reminded me of her too much and then I'd miss her and cry, which would end up getting Callie into trouble, so I couldn't have it with me all the time. Then one day I came home from school and found out that our foster mom had thrown it away. She said that it wasn't fair that I had the bear when the other kids there didn't so she just.. go rid of it. That's when Callie told me that we only need each other."

"Oh." Jesus was silent for a moment. Before moving to one of the boxes on his shelving unit and rummaging through it as he searched for something. With a loud shout, he triumphantly pulled out what essentially looked like a stripy threadbare beanbag.

"Here," he said, almost shyly, handing it to Jude, "I know it's not your J.J Bear, but you can have my tiger if you want. He... he was actually also called J.J but obviously not for the same reason. I mean, I know that it's not the same, but this place isn't the same as those other crappy foster homes - trust me. You don't have to have him, but if you want to..."

"Yes please." Jude smiled at him, his face looking even younger, and more innocent. Jesus returned the smile.

...

That night, Jesus couldn't sleep properly at first. He wasn't used to sharing a room and hearing someone else's breathing was kind of unnerving. He was about to say something, to wake Jude up so that he had a chance of falling to sleep before the younger boy's soft snores restarted when he saw something. Tucked in the crook of the boy's arm was J.J the tiger. He smiled as he saw his new foster brother squeeze the tiger, turning around and burying his face into it. It was... nice.

Suddenly Jesus realised something. He could get used to the breathing and the sort-of snoring. He could get used to Jude's presence and quiet personality. He could get used to Jude being there. But what he couldn't get used to - and this he knew was a certainty - was the idea that Jude would be going. Because he shouldn't be. He belonged right where he was, sharing a room with Jesus, cuddling an old toy, and safe. Jesus didn't want him to just be a foster brother and, he was pretty sure that his moms would feel the same way.

_After all, how couldn't they? It was obvious that Jude belonged here._


	7. Brandon

**So here's Brandon's POV... I'm not particularly happy with it - I don't think that I've got his personality right, so it's probably maybe not going to be ultra short... Sorry :/**

**Thanks for all the reviews and favourites and follows. And if you actually like this chapter, please review, follow and fave it XD**

**I think this chapter will probably be the last, though I may end up doing one more in ALL of their POVs.**

**DISCLAIMER: yeah... No.**

He noticed how, like his music, they all fitted together, balancing each others' personalities. They made a whole, a complete being. As corny as it sounded, it was as if they were meant to be. But it really was, he was struggling to separate the two Jacob siblings from the rest of his family, to think of them as temporary. Because they weren't, not really, not any more. He knew, his moms knew, even the twins knew it. The only ones who didn't were the two of them themselves. But because they either didn't know or didn't realise it meant that no one could tell them. Which meant that he ended up feeling guilty for not telling them, especially when Callie spoke about past homes and her experiences with them, or when he overheard her warning her brother not to get used to being there. It didn't seem fair, and he wished that there was something he could do about it.

But he couldn't, not really. It was up to his moms and whilst he knew that they wanted to keep them, he'd overheard Lena talking to his mom about expenses and knew that having five kids under one roof was costing them. Not only that, but his mom had said several times before that they just didn't have the space.

That said, he knew what he _could_ do. His father had said several times before that he could move in, and, without him and his music equipment, he felt certain that they'd be enough room for the Jacob siblings to stay. Not only that, but without his equipment plugged in and with one child less to feed, there was a chance that the bills would be less and therefore there wouldn't be the risk of his moms getting into financial trouble. But that'd only work if they let him leave.

And somehow he doubted that would happen. His mom would view as Mike one-uping her, Lena would be hurt that he didn't want to live with them any more, the twins wouldn't really understand why he was loving out and he'd probably drive a wedge between them all and the Jacobs, particularly considering Callie would see through any excuse he thought of know that it would be because of them - and she'd probably view that as a negative thing.

"Brandon, dinner's on the table!" He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, as Callie knocked lightly on the door.

"Yeah, sure!" He nodded, before realising that she couldn't actually see him doing so and sighed. Running a hand through his already ruffled hair, he sighed again and headed out of his room and to the kitchen.

Dinner was a quiet affair and seemed to pass pleasantly, though rather quickly. As the teens dispersed, he got up and reached out for Callie's arm, catching her attention.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

At her nod, he lead her upstairs to his room, where upon arrival he sat down in his swivel chair, whilst she sat at the edge of his bed, looking rather uncomfortable and more than a little awkward.

Suddenly shy, Brandon rubbed the back of his neck, choosing to stare down at his worn down trainers rather than look at her. "So, I just wanted to ask... How-How are you? I mean, you like it here, right?"

"Sure," The girl replied with a shrug, "I mean it was not be permanent, but it's better than the other homes we've been in."

"What if it wasn't?" He blurted out, unable to stop himself. At her confused look, he shook his head and tried again. "Temporary, I mean. What if this could be where you stay?"

She shook her head, and even seemed to have pity in her eyes. Pity for him and his naïvity. "Yeah, that'd be great, but it's not going to happen. Step and Lena - your moms - said that it couldn't be. There's no point wasting time with 'what ifs' - you only end up more hurt when reality bites. Trust me, I've been there and done that. There's no point."

"Oh." He was quiet for a moment, but only a moment. He couldn't let her be like that, to be so lacking in hope that she wouldn't allow herself to even talk about such things, even hypothetically. "I want to move out."

"Oh." She frowned slightly, subconsciously puckering her lips slightly as she did so. "Why? And shouldn't you be telling your moms this first?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it just makes sense. I mean without me here there's one less child - that makes it only one more than before we knew you. I figured that there'd be more space and less mouths to feed, so then moms would be more inclined to make you guys being here permanent. And I wanted you to be the first to know." He ended with a small smile, which she hesitantly returned.

"Thanks," she told him, her tone soft and her smile unable to hide the sadness in her eyes, "But you can't. Not for us - and not for anyone else for that matter. Don't go because you think it '_makes sense_' or it's the '_right thing to do_', only go if that's what _you_ want, and if it'll make _you_ happy, okay?"

"You - and Jude - staying with us, that'd make me happy, more than anything else. I _want_ to go, honestly I do."

Callie opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a knock on the door and Stef sticking her head around it.

"Ah, Bug, there you are! Dishes need doing and it's still yours and Mariana's week, so I suggest you hurry on down and help out!" She smiled at the teen in order to soften her words and make it clear that they were said in a joking tone. Nonetheless , Callie still rushed from the room, eager to leave the conversation and avoid getting into trouble.

Stef watched her leave before sighing and taking the newly vacated spot on Brandon's bed. "So, B, what where you talking about?"

He sighed and leant back in his chair, raising an eyebrow at his mother. "You heard."

She half sighed, half grimaced, before nodding her head. "Yeah I did, and I've got to say, have you thought it through?"

He nodded firmly in response. "Yes."

_"Really?!"_

_"Yes!"_

"Okay, well then if you're so sure, do you mind telling me why?" Now it was Stef who raised an eyebrow, and she did so whilst staring down at her son, trying to work out _what_ was possibly going through his mind and _why _he was so adamant in his belief that the Jacob siblings belonged with them.

"There's enough to go around."

Stef stared at him,_ really _stared at him. He was so old now, so mature compared to other kids his age and sometimes, such as right then, incredibly _wise_. Mother and son shared a smile as they both recalled the previous time that he'd answered a question with that - right before they'd adopted the twins.

Stef nodded in agreement with him and tried to discreetly wipe away a tear from her eye. "There sure is, B, there sure is."


	8. All

**I know that I said that I wasn't sure if I'd write anything else, but I have so... Yeah**

**So this is the LAST last part. Hopefully anyone who's read to Herr has enjoyed the story. I never REALLY planned one making into a proper story with a plot and stuff, it was always just going to be each character's POV as they realise the Jacob siblings are part of their family, and honestly I only really wanted to write it after rewatching the pilot and that scene when Callie rushes to Jude and Stef sees... I honestly love it. So yeah, just thought I'd make it clear that this is the last part (if anyone actually cares) and yeah...**

**So this part has Callie and Jude finding out that their going to get adopted, now I think I should point out that it hasn't gone the same way as the show, as in no wedding, no court case, no shooting. Here they're finding out differently... Still, hopefully you like it**

**Also, it HAS been written on my phone so I apologise for any spelling/punctuation/really any kind of mistake. I HAVE read through it and corrected any that I've seen, but if I missed any please tell me and yeah...**

**As always, please review, favourite or follow :)**

**DISCLAIMER: As you should have gathered by now, I don't own a single thing.**

They all three teens agreed without hesitation, Mariana even adding in a 'well duh!' and a roll of her eyes. Stef and Lena looked at each other and smiled, both immensely proud of their children for being so grown up and... _kind._ They were willing to share, not just their home, or their parents, but their lives with the siblings in the other room, both which they hadn't know for that long.

Lena felt a tear escape her eye and wasn't surprised when more followed. With a squeeze of Stef's arm, she moved to her children and gathered them all up into her arms, suddenly overcame with a gratefulness that _they'd_ chosen _her_ to be their mother, their _Mama._ She couldn't believe how lucky she was.

"Do you guys know how much I love you?" She muttered kissing the top of each of their heads.

Each nodded and hugged her back, causing more tears to fall.

"Hey Love, no crying." Stef stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her partner.

Lena sniffed and leaned into Stef's side. "This isn't bad crying, Stef. I'm happy. Really happy, and really proud of my three wonderful kids and just so glad that the other kids in the room next door are about to get a forever home and-"

"Lena! I get it!" With a chuckle, Stef kissed her cheek, "I do. But if you keep crying then I'm going to start and then we won't be able to tell these kids the news and they won't know that they have a forever family and-"

"We've got a forever family?" This time it was Stef who was cut off and they all turned to see Just and Callie in the doorway. Jude, who had spoken, had a look of excitement on his face as he looked from one adult to another, before turning to his sister. "Callie, did you hear that? We have a forever family!"

"Yeah, Jude, I heard." Though she was answering her brother, the teen kept her eyes on the two women, her expression unreadable. "So did Bill call?"

"How about you three go get some fresh air outside?" Lena turned to Brandon and the others, realising that it would probably be best for them not to be there. Fortunately, they all seemed to understand and quickly left the room with any form of protest. Once they'd left Lena turned back to continue the conversation.

"What?!" Stef frowned, in confusion, "Why would he have?"

"Well then when are we leaving? Do you want us to pack now? And what should we do with the stuff you gave us - like the phone?" She reached into her pocket and took the mobile from it, going to hand it to Stef, who was the closest to her.

"What? Callie, no. There's been a misunderstanding." Stef smiled at her gently, refusing to take the phone and instead wrapping a hand around both it and Callie's own hand. "You two aren't going anywhere."

"So we're not getting a forever family?' Jude's voice was small and quiet as he tried to keep his tears at bay, "Nobody wants us." He whispered sadly.

Lena felt her heart rip in two at that. "Oh sweets," She said gently, pulling the boy to her and hugging him tightly. "That's not what we're saying. That's not what we're saying at all."

The boy looked up at her, frowning. "I don't understand."

Lena sighed and looked at Stef, who nodded, and then at Callie. "You're not going to a forever family somewhere else, because we want here to be your forever family... If you want it to be?"

"YEAH!" Both women chuckled at Jude's enthusiastic response. "Of course we want to, right Callie? Callie?"

Unlike her brother, Callie did not seem happy. Instead her expression remained unreadable as she scrutinised the adults. "Why?" She asked.

Stef laughed at that. "Why? Why?! Because we love you, Bug, and you deserve to live somewhere where people love you!"

A flicker of fury passed across Callie's face and she glared at Stef. "So what? You figure you owe us or something?! Well you don't, and you know that. Don't go doing is any favours. You've already got three kids, you don't need another two."

"It's not about pity, Love, or about owing anyone. We want you to be happy and we want you to live with us, as part of our family."

"Why-?" The furosity of her glare lessened, but she still didn't look convinced. "You can't afford to keep us. You said before that you couldn't offer us a permanent place, what changed?"

"Callie..." Jude whimpered, shooting his sister a warning look, "Don't."

"It's okay, Jude," Lena smiled softly at him. "I know that we said that at the time, bit things change and now we can. We wouldn't offer if we weren't one hundred percent sure, okay? Obviously it's up to the two of you, but if you want to join us then you can be, we'd both love it if you do."

Callie bit her lip as Jude nodded his head at her. "Callie..."

"Okay. If you're sure it's okay and so long as you have room."

Stef laughed at that and slung an arm around Callie's shoulders, "Sweets, I'm not sure if you've realised yet, but we've made room. Hell, we've been making room since the first day we met you."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then okay."

"Really?!" Jude beamed at his sister, happy with her decision.

"Sure, Bud," She smiled at him, "They're our forever family. And do you know how I know?" When he shook his head she glanced at the two women who were watching her carefully and smiled. "Because I love them and they're the only family to love us enough to make room for us. And if they can do that then I think we can make room in our lives for them."

No more words were needed. They were home.

**End.**


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